1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carrying cases which enclose any relatively flat hole-punched item as well as irregularly shaped loose items and to which numerous small pouches are attached to both the interior and to the exterior of the case.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ironically, the modern symbols of achievement and position, the briefcase and the personal organizer, often are burdens to the professional workers who must carry them. The female professional may by further encumbered by a purse or wallet. Although ring binders may be the most convenient fasteners for flat hole-punched items such as transparencies or manuals, they may be bulky and inconveniently shaped, thus still further compounding the difficulties in carrying business-related materials.
Unless one's briefcase is roomy enough to accommodate the other items safely, the professional must tote them all about individually, sometimes struggling to keep hold of all the possessions. Items may be dropped in public transit systems, forgotten in vehicles, and misplaced at the most inopportune moment. At worst, the struggle to convey all the items to their intended destinations is simply impossible; at best, it is annoying. Although tremendously convenient and popular with students, until the backpack has become a dignified boardroom feature it probably is not an option for the professional. The extreme option of leaving one's possessions at home, thereby obviating the struggle to carry them, is simply not a meaningful choice and may lead to more inconvenience than has been eliminated.
Although combinations of purses, cases and accessories have been devised to alleviate some of this aggravation, no combination provides the advantages of the present invention, and no combination adequately meets the demands faced by professional workers who must carry several disparately-shaped business materials and personal effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,201, issued to Bess Carp on Jul. 17, 1979, reveals a combination carrying case and article organizer assembly especially adapted for the traveler. The case is a rectangular piece of luggage to which a shoulder strap is attached and into which a number of article organizers may be fixed. The article organizers are flat pouches having various pocket and zipper configurations which allow the traveler to store such items as travelers checks, credit cards and the like. However, the case has no means for securing flat hole-punched leaves. Moreover, because all items carried by the case are necessarily located in the interior of the case, a user must open the case fully to retrieve a desired item.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,119, issued to Dale Hollingsworth on Jun. 8, 1993, shows a carrying case which is designed to carry a laptop computer. The case comprises a main compartment which is adapted for receiving, suspending and protecting a laptop computer. A flap with a buckle may be used to seal the compartment. It may further comprise compartments mounted to the exterior surfaces of the main compartment panels. A shoulder strap and a handle provide carrying means. Although well-suited to carrying a laptop computer and its attendant paraphernalia, the case lacks means for keeping hole-punched items organized and stationary or for securing items such as purses or writing implements. Moreover, the main compartment does not open flat, but rather, opens only at the top, so that the use of a ring binder in this case would be seriously hampered.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 183,711, issued to Marilyn Blaivas on Oct. 21, 1958, shows a combined autographed handbag, wallet and loose leaf ring binder. Although styled a "handbag", the device is really no more than a two-ring binder fixedly mounted to a panel to which two side panel members are flexibly attached. Carrying handles are attached to the panels. Items are held by the handbag either by fastening them directly to the ring binder or by placing them within pouches fastened to the ring binder. The handbag cannot be completely sealed and, therefore, cannot contain any loose items.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,127, issued to Don E. Cummings on Mar. 2, 1993, describes a storage device and organizer for card collections. The device consists of a case in which a three ring binder has been attached. Compartments built into the case provide storage spaces for variously shaped items, whereas the three-ring binder may be used to secure any leaf which has been hole punched. The case may be latched shut and carried by a handle. All items must be carried in the case interior. As with the carrying case in the Carp patent, the user must open the case in order to retrieve an item. Partitioning of the case into smaller compartments necessarily prevents a user from storing an oversized leaf on the binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,895,018, issued to Charles Wolf on Jan. 24, 1933, discloses a handbag whose compartment space is adapted to hold a novel. When closed, the handbag completely encloses small personal effects as well as a book. When opened, the handbag permits the user to hold the book opened flat in one hand. Numerous pockets are attached to the side of the handbag and may be covered by a securing flap. The size of the bag does not permit the inclusion of the ring binder as in the instant invention. Moreover, the bag is specifically adapted to secure a book rather than a randomly-sized leaf. Although its numerous pockets provide storage space for the user, the bag has no provisions for securing ancillary pouches or purses. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 75,202, issued to Walter F. Wolf on May 22, 1928, shows another combination book holder and pocket book with the same limitations as those found in the book holder in the Wolf '018 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,522, issued to Randi R. Weber on Oct. 9, 1990, describes a utility travel pack for carrying a baby's needs. Because of its sheer volume, the utility travel pack is capable of engulfing smaller bags. The travel pack is convertible from a hand-carried mode to either a shoulder-carried or a back-carried mode. Besides being inconveniently sized for business purposes, the bag lacks means for attaching smaller bags to its exterior surface, thus requiring a user to rummage through its interior to find smaller bags contained therein. The bag also lacks a binder having a ring for receiving hole-punched items.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,887, issued to Lawrence Garcia on Jan. 3, 1995, shows a piece of travel luggage which may be converted from a handbag to a backpack. British Patent No. 857,965, issued to Albert P. Lewin on Jan. 4, 1961, shows a satchel having handles which may be converted into a backpack. Neither of these devices is combined with a ring binder. Although the backpack in the Garcia patent may have an extensible pocket affixed to an exterior surface, items placed therein cannot be organized or immobilized other than by stuffing them in tightly. Oversized articles cannot be contained in the pocket. The satchel in Lewin's patent lacks even an exterior pocket such as this.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 160,147, issued to Herbert S. Chase on Sep. 19, 1950, demonstrates a ladies' purse which has a key holder and an assembly of transparent holders for securing photographs. Pockets in the purse may hold small personal effects; however, the purse is clearly unsuited to holding business articles. Although a key holder may consist of a ring, it is an inappropriate means for holding hole-punch leaves in combination with this ladies' purse.
Further, relatively remote disclosures include those seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,834, issued to Anne K. Rush on Jan. 3, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,340, issued to Alice R. Smallwood on Oct. 17, 1989; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,208, issued to Richard J. Tremmel, Jr. et al. on Mar. 15, 1994. The Rush patent discloses a backpack which converts into a cape for a stuffed bear. Not only does this device lack any means for holding or organizing any business related materials, but also it cannot be converted to a handbag configuration. The Smallwood patent discloses a transport and storage pack to which a stuffed toy is permanently attached and a story printed on cloth material is temporarily attached. As with the Rush patent, this device is not designed to enclose business materials but rather to provide a convenient means for toting a child's amusements. The Tremmel, Jr. et al. patent discloses a notebook-type personal organizer which belongs in the same general class as the personal organizers the instant invention is designed to replace. The device is not a carrying case nor may it be converted into one.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.